


Facing An Open Sea

by Las



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Episode Tag, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-09
Updated: 2011-01-09
Packaged: 2017-10-14 15:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/150559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Las/pseuds/Las
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Episode tag to 'The Beach'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Facing An Open Sea

There is a secluded stretch of beach owned by the royal family where the sand is whiter, softer, and the ocean bluer, or maybe that’s just how Ty Lee remembers it. Her memories of this place are overlaid by the way the sun gilds their bodies, the feeling of being weightless in the water, and the pleasant inconvenience of shaking sand out of her hair.

She balances herself on her forearms, moving her legs back and forth through the air in a languid motion, enjoying the stretch. A few feet away, Azula dozes in the shade of a large umbrella. Even in repose, she is beautiful with the potential to strike.

“So,” Ty Lee says. “What do you think Mai and Zuko are doing?”

Azula opens one eye. “Come here,” she says, “and I’ll show you.”

+

There are similar scorch marks on Mai and Ty Lee’s clothes.

“He gets overexcited sometimes,” Mai shrugs.

“She means it,” Ty Lee says.

+

Ty Lee is floating on her back in the ocean when she feels Azula’s hands on her waist. She twists in the water to face her, and Azula drawls, “Careful the tide doesn’t carry you out to sea.” Friendly words that still sound snide: her specialty.

“I’m a good swimmer,” Ty Lee replies.

Azula smiles. Ty Lee knows smiles are supposed to be good things, but she doesn’t really like Azula’s that much. It never seems to express the things a smile is supposed to. “Well, good for you,” Azula says, and pulls her closer.

+

After the flurry of confessions on the beach, Azula claims she’s tired and going to bed, and Ty Lee follows her because she doesn’t want to hang around while Mai and Zuko make out. She doesn’t really think Azula is tired; the girl just has problems dealing with openheartedness if she’s not taking advantage of it.

The path back to their house is dark, but the ball of flame floating above Azula’s palm lights the way.

“Hey,” Ty Lee says softly.

“What.”

“I don’t think you’re a monster.”

The flicker of the firelight exaggerates Azula’s smirk. “That’s sweet. I do think you’re a circus freak.”

Ty Lee feels the blood rushing to her cheeks.

Azula adds, “You said that was a compliment, right?”

“Um, I guess.”

“All right, then.” And just like that, Ty Lee sees Azula dismiss it from her mind.

+

“Do you ever miss your mother?” Ty Lee asks.

“Let’s not talk about my mother.”

So they don’t. She slips her hand into Azula’s, but Azula doesn’t hold it in return, doesn’t even seem to acknowledge it, so Ty Lee just withdraws it again.

+

She wants to ask “How jealous? How often are you jealous?” but she doesn’t. If she thinks about it, it even makes some sense, sort of. Jealousy and desire go hand in hand, and maybe that goes double for Azula, who doesn’t seduce, but conquers.

+

“It’ll be fun!” Ty Lee enthuses. “It’ll be like a double date!”

Azula raises an eyebrow. “A double _date_?”

“Or something,” Ty Lee mumbles. “Oh, come on, Azula! We’ll bring bean cakes and mangoes and-”

“Oh please. Let Mai and Zuko go on their stupid picnics. I have better things to do.”

“…Okay,” she says, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, “so what do you want to do?”

Azula raises her face to the sun, mulling this over. “I’ll meet you on the beach in ten minutes,” she decides. “Let’s have a duel.”

Ty Lee grins, though she knows she will lose. Whatever. She leaves things like slavering over the honor of victory to Azula and Zuko. She does like giving Azula a good runaround though, and making Azula focus on _her_.

The picnic can wait.

+

“Don’t come,” Azula commands, and Ty Lee whimpers. She writhes against Azula’s touch and reaches for her, but Azula swats her hands away. “I mean it. Don’t. Not yet.”

Ty Lee slurs her curses and muffles her moans and doesn’t look at Azula’s face. She doesn’t want to look. She doesn’t need to. Ty Lee knows what she’d see: the proprietary light in her eyes, the self-satisfaction edged in lust. Ty Lee likes sex for the joy of it, the sheer exhilaration, but when Azula discovered sex, she acted like she had discovered a new firebending move, and applied herself with the same fearless discipline and air of triumph.

“Azula,” Ty Lee breathes, then Azula does that thing with her fingers and Ty Lee tenses as the pleasure grips her body. She clutches the bedsheets and arches, throwing her head back, and through the bedroom window she can see the upside-down vision of the late afternoon sky.

Azula says, “I told you not to do that.”

“Sorry,” Ty Lee mumbles, still panting. “You’re too good at this.”

“You’re too easy,” she replies, once more giving off the impression that she knows Ty Lee better than Ty Lee knows herself. Sometimes Ty Lee even believes it.

“I-” she begins, and trails off when Azula crawls over her body.

“What shall we do about your disobedience?” Azula purrs, her hand brushing the underside of Ty Lee’s breast, the heat in her fingers already building.

+

Azula leaves her marks where no one can see, which is no mean feat during summer at Ember Island. During summer at Ember Island, people see most of Ty Lee.

The boy she meets at the beach brushes his fingers against the burn scar on her inner thigh, and asks, “How’d you get this?”

“Oh, you know,” Ty Lee shrugs, and changes the subject by letting her strap slip off her shoulder.


End file.
